Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Sells 6,344 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. by 0.6%, now holding approximately 2.11% of the company, valued at $92.8 million.
• Several large investors modified their holdings in Assured Guaranty, with Allworth Financial LP increasing its stake by 27.6% in the first quarter.
• Assured Guaranty reported earnings of $1.01 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates by ($0.56), but revenue increased by 39.1% year-over-year.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,053,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,344 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned 2.11% of Assured Guaranty worth $92,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AGO. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 74,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,664,000 after acquiring an additional 6,581 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,857 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,486,000 after acquiring an additional 24,978 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter worth $231,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 89.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 488,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,005,000 after acquiring an additional 230,258 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis grew its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 109.9% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 56,735 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,107,000 after acquiring an additional 29,702 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AGO. Zacks Research raised shares of Assured Guaranty to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assured Guaranty from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Assured Guaranty from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Robert Bailenson sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.51, for a total value of $3,260,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 291,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,778,749.28. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 1.9%

AGO traded up $1.5330 during trading on Friday, hitting $82.4230. The company had a trading volume of 229,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,514. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 0.88. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a one year low of $74.09 and a one year high of $96.50. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $84.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.56). The company had revenue of $281.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.91 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 44.53% and a return on equity of 7.18%. The company's revenue was up 39.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is currently 15.03%.

Assured Guaranty Company Profile

Assured Guaranty Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides credit protection products to public finance, infrastructure, and structured finance markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Insurance and Asset Management. The company offers financial guaranty insurance that protects holders of debt instruments and other monetary obligations from defaults in scheduled payments.